Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Author John Halsted invites the reader to step into an adventure, packed with history, action, and drama. It's the end of the Viking age as the mysterious journey takes us along the silk route into China's notorious desert, where you may enter,but may not leave. A Viking saga introduces us to ancient people, hidden kingdoms, and lost tribes. A place where love blossoms, and danger becomes more intense as the Viking crew continue to travel. I highly recommend "Legend Of The Last Vikings: Taklamakan" to all those who enjoy historical adventures, combined with mystery, and action. As the journey continues across the European steppe, conflict, evil, and battle waits for the diverse crew. What are the Vikings up against, and do they find what they are looking for? Who will survive in a city that's ready to die? Who are the Lang Ren, and do they survive? Does the Viking crew find the answers to their questions, and who will win the battle? The story becomes a Masterpiece that is nothing short of 'a triumph.' The reader will experience an Adrenaline Rush as suspense and unstoppable action explode page-after-page in a world that's filled with romance, greed, and betrayal. Has the final clue to the Viking's quest been uncovered, and what plan do they have for the thieves and criminals? The author created a searing drama of courage in a shattering emotional experience you will never forget. This novel is filled with as much action as THE PATRIOT, and is as dramatic as DANCES WITH WOLVES, with Kevin Costner.

Gayle Nobel is the coauthor of IT'S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE: Loving and living well with Autism. She holds a BA in Special Education, and directed an intensive home theraphy program for eleven years for her autistic son Kyle, who is now twenty-six. During that time, she trained over one-hundred volunteer therapists and aides in the attitude, she writes and speaks about.

Originally from New York, Gayle is an author, inspirational speaker, and also a sister to a forty-nine year old brother with autism. She lives with her husband and three children in Arizona. Her book BREATHE is for anyone wanting to move beyond the autism cure books. She offers support, inspiration, and hand-on tools in every chapter for living well with life's challenges. To learn more,

Jim Temme & Associates is a staff training and consulting company, providing training resources, which will assist your employees in becoming more effective and efficient.

Jim Temme has done over 2,500 speaking engagements over the last seventeen years-for profit, not-for-profit and government organizations. Some of the organizations for whom he has made presentations include: American Express, United Technologies, Boeing and many, many others.

His books have sold over 500,000 copies. He has written four books. In addition, he has written magazine articles.

Jim Temme is an Author, Trainer, Speaker, and consultant. He has managed people, himself, for thirteen years. He has over twenty years experience as a Professional Speaker and Trainer.

Jim Temme stands out from all of the competition in the speaking field, because of his diverse experience across all economical sectors. As a result, he specializes in tailoring seminars to client needs and can help your organization. Contact Jim at: jim@jimtemme.com

Son of a hospital head cook, Nikolaus Baker was born in the rural village of Mauchline. This friendly once mining village is situated in west of Scotland, Ayrshire, about thirty miles from Glasgow. Steeped in Scottish History from the Covenanters to the life and works of Robert Burns, who also lived in the same village. Nikolaus was educated at Auchinleck Academy in the early 1970s and attended various technical colleges part-time, obtaining various scientific qualifications and later graduated, while in full-time employment in 1993, with a BA degree with the Open University.

Nikolaus has had many interests and in his early teens, he was a keen Scout, gaining his Chief Scouts Award. An enthusiastic hill walker, and also completed some rock climbs. Always keeping fit, Nikolaus would be first to admit it, he would never harm a fly, and prefers running to fighting!

When he left school in the 1970s, Ayrshire, which was an unemployment black-spot and the main employers being coal mining industry and the plastics factory, soon found himself on the dole. His scientific interests merited him for a job in education as a laboratory assistant, cleaning at first test tubes, and science laboratories. Strangely enough, this first job was with the same academy he had left, only months before! This seemed quite funny, when his friends would joke with him. He gained promotion as a lab technician, after studying for many scientific qualifications, with a special aptitude in Biology, and Chemistry. It was while working at Irvine Royal Academy, he met a friend who had a hobby with microcomputers, and Nikolaus became quickly spell-bound by this quick moving technology. He enjoyed working in the schools, and always found helping the pupils very rewarding.

Moving to find work in Glasgow in the mid 1980s as a computer technician, he was always eager to learn, and help both lecturing staff and students with their project work. He moved on again to a higher position of analyst/Programmer in the Council. It was at this time that he met and married his wife Aileen, and they have two boys, and a daughter.

Always one for keeping up with new technology and new challenges, he worked with several other large employers, before his interests turned towards management.

Fately, this was a strategic pitfall for him, finding himself quickly unemployed, through no fault of his own. With a small government run company, he realized too late, that he had been only required for the relocation of premises and launch of this company, finding out the hard way that ego centric personalities came into play and it didn't matter how good you were at your job or whether you had a family. Out of a job, and his family plummeted straight down, and onto the breadline.

This sent Nikolaus into a spiral, moving through different jobs in the same line, but none provided them with the security they required. Working for a once successful electronic company, specializing in printed circuit boards, the spectre of redundancy loomed even closer and once again with no alternative, but to try I.T. management again.

Baker had always been one to stand up and voice his opinion, when he believed that things were wrong whereever he found it and he would stand up for the underdog, knowing fine well that there were some hidden agendas, and hit lists. On one such occasion on his first week of employment, Baker was advised that he would have to sack an individual! This did not go down well with him, after all, a spade was always a spade with Baker, and he too found himself out of a job again. Battling between employer power plays and oversized egos, were too much, even for him. His wife and family stood by him, and they braved the storms once again.

Completely disillusioned with the way his world had become and out of a job, and as luck would have it, he applied to a small family I.T. Business in Glasgow, securing a position in part of the I.T. Development team in a niche market. He made many friends, and had a lot of respect for this small firm. It was a tough job, where your position was always on the line, but Baker had great respect for an American Manager, and they both spoke directly with each other on different occasions. The company never took on dead wood, and Baker found friendship, and much achievement in this company. It was a firm, where a spade was a spade!

One day in the early millennium and out of the blue, Nikolaus was diagnosed with cancer. The company supported him through this difficult time, and for which he was very grateful. Mr. Baker also eternally indebted to all those who helped save his life, and Nikolaus has made a full recovery. He thanks his Doctors at the local health centre for their help, the surgeon in Ayr Hospital-Ballochmyle suite, who performed the surgery, and their Nurses. He also thanks the Radiotheraphy Department, Consultants, Nursing and support staff, stationed at the Beatson in Glasgow.

As a young man, he always liked reading fiction books, and in his early twenties, attempted to write his first book. He felt that he had a good story, but it proved too difficult at that time. Although he had the imagination, Nikolaus did not have the experience in life, and knowledge. Twenty-three years later, he had gained all the experience he needed! There is an endless wealth of knowledge on the internet, but found also that nothing is better than going to the library to research various topics, cross checking fact from fiction, or being in a place and feeling the atmosphere to stimulate the mind. With all the wheeling and dealings and hidden agendas, studying the different colours of human personalties and emotions, put-downs and power-plays, Baker was fully equipped to entertain and is now quite capable to mess with your mind.

Writing the book to him has been both extremely challenging, and at the same time therapeutic. His secret passion of writing a book is one in which he has had since a boy, and now it would be realized, and come to fruition with GODSCHAIN. "GODSCHAIN" is a series of books, and the first being 'GENESIS' and 'THE FIRST DEGREE.' What better a background than being born in a place full of history, including the enigmatic Freemasons villages and towns to the summary killing times of the Covenanters, and religious tensions in Scotland, mixed with manipulation of human life by those people of power?

John Halsted was educated at Westville Boys High, just outside Durban, South Africa, where he spent more time on the sports field. This is where he was gaining honours for athletics, and just managing to graduate. His lack of interest in academic work led his teachers and parents to despair, while his coach rejoiced.

In the two years following high school, he commenced national service in the South African Air Force, and spent more time on athletics tours and having a good time, never fully committed to the defence of aparttheid as his Sergeant Major will readily testify. After completing his national service, he used London as a base, and spent the better part of eighteen months cycling around Europe.

On returning to South Africa in 1980, he found a job as a shipping clerk and when the opportunity presented itself, he transferred to Johannesburg, only so he could continue his athletics career. In 1982, he found himself managing a container depot. It was here that he was run over by a seven-and-half ton forklift truck, and his athletics career brought to a screaming halt, literally and figuratively. He spent three months in an orthopaedic hospital recuperating. It was also at this time that the Western nations applied strict sanctions against South Africa, due to the country's apartheid policies, and the shipping industry all but died. Not long after leaving the hospital, he found himself out of a job, and without any marketable skills. The easy times were over, he had to skill up.

In 1983, he found employment as an internal auditor, with a major motor manufacturer. Searching for the ideal career, he later transferred to the Accounts and Finance department. In 1985, he went to night classes, and trained as a computer programmer, later transferring to the I.T. department.

In 1986, he met his future wife, Joy. She was a Kiwi Occupational Therapist, on assignment from the International Leprosy Mission at Westfort Hospital, Pretoria. They married in 1987 and in 1988, they moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where they had two children.

In 1991, John and his family were transferred from Auckland to Wellington. In 1994, he moved into project management, finally finding his ideal career. This gave him the fun, the chalenge, and the variety he requires. Their third child was born in 1996, and their fourth in 1998.

In 1999, the family moved to England, the birth place of his Grandmother. In 2001, he made a poignant journey to Poland and Stalag VIII-C, where his father was a POW. Always relishing a challenge, he had cycled 300m/480km from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through France, along the Canal du Midi and 500m/800km across northern Spain, on the way of St. James.

In 2000, he started a part-time MBA at Bath University, which he successfully completed in 2002. On completion of his MBA, he realized just how much time he had on his hands, and commenced an in-depth personal study of Viking history, from which his family are allegedly descended. In his research, he discovered that Vikings who travelled East across Europe, and along the Silk Route, were more interesting than family trees. It didn't take much to convert his research into an Historical Action and Adventure novel. He was stunned to find himself a finalist in the ForeWord Book of the Year awards in 2006. He is currently researching, and writing a sequel.